This disclosure relates to a fabric having ultraviolet radiation protection, and more specifically, to a fabric having ultraviolet (UV) radiation protection incorporated into the fabric. Further, this disclosure relates to a fabric having enhanced ability to resist degradation of the fabric. The disclosure also provides methods to provide enhanced resistance to color degradation of a fabric and enhanced resistance to fiber strength degradation of a fabric. This disclosure provides methods to provide enhanced resistance to fire of a fabric. This disclosure also relates to a fabric having superhydrophobic properties.
Ecological friendly fabrics or Eco-friendly fabrics are gaining in popularity and use in clothing. An Eco-friendly fabric may be a natural fiber such as cotton, hemp, or bamboo which has been grown in soil that has not been treated with pesticides for a number of years. Some examples of other Eco-friendly fabrics are organic cotton, sisal, a combination of hemp and recycled rayon, a combination of hemp and cotton, broadcloth, denim, linen, and a combination of bamboo and recycled rayon. Natural fibers, which may be derived from plants or animals, such as wool, angora, silk, alpaca, cashmere, and silk are also examples of Eco-friendly fabrics. Synthetic fabrics, which may be made from synthetic sustainable products, such as nylon, rayon, olefin, spandex, and tencel are also examples of Eco-friendly fabrics.
To assist an individual in determining whether a garment has protection against ultraviolet radiation, a rating system has been developed. This rating system is known in the industry as the UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating system. Clothing having a rating of UPF 50 are able to block out 98% of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Further, by way of example, a garment having a rating of UPF 15-24 will only block out 93.3% to 95.9% of ultraviolet radiation. Exposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation (known as UVA/UVB rays) can damage the skin, can cause sunburn, and can lead to skin cancer over prolonged exposure.
There are a number of factors that affect the level of ultraviolet radiation protection provided by a fabric and the UPF rating. Some factors are the weave of the fabric, the color of the fabric, the weight of the fabric, the fiber composition of the fabric, the stretch of the fabric, moisture content of the fabric. If the fabric has a tight weave or a high thread count then the fabric will have a higher UPF rating. However, even though the fabric has a higher UPF rating, the fabric may be less comfortable because a tighter weave or higher thread count means that the fabric is heavy or uncomfortable to wear. Another factor that affects protection is the addition of chemicals such as UV absorbers or UV diffusers during the manufacturing process. As can be appreciated, some of the features that make a garment comfortable to wear also make the garment less protective. A challenge for a clothing manufacturer is to provide clothing having both protection from the sun and being comfortable to wear.
Paper or historical documents can also suffer from the effects of UV radiation. Due to the acid in paper, when paper is exposed to light paper can yellow, become brittle, and deteriorate. In order to prevent this, paper made from wood pulp is treated to neutralize the natural acids in paper. It is also know that paper may be manufactured from cotton pulp. Cotton paper is superior in durability to wood pulp paper. Cotton paper is often used for archival purposes for documents that are intended to be permanent. Although acid-free paper and cotton paper are used for preservation purposes, exposure to UV radiation may still degrade the paper. Other paper type products are also available such as construction paper or wrap that is used in the construction industry. Being able to protect construction materials from exposure to UV radiation during the building process would also be desirable.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a fabric that can be treated to protect an individual from the effects of the sun. Moreover, there is a need for a controllable process for attaching UV protection to a fabric after the fabric has been manufactured so that the treated fabric may be used to protect an individual from UV radiation. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to incorporate adequate protection in a garment, fabric, or textile to protect against exposure to UV radiation, to increase the UV resistance of a garment, fabric, or textile, or to enhance UV radiation absorption of a garment, fabric, or textile to protect an individual from UV radiation. It would also be desirable to be able to protect paper against degradation from UV radiation.